Oppenheimer and Evercore ISI raised their price targets
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CRNX) stock is surging today, last seen up 72.7% to trade at $27.58 at last check, after the late stage trial for its experimental drug paltusotine to treat a rare hormonal disorder was successful. The company also plans to submit a regulatory approval application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next year, should another late-stage trial go well.
Oppenheimer and Evercore ISI raised their price targets to $46 from $48, respectively. The brokerage bunch leans bullish on CRNX, with all eight of the analysts in coverage boasting a "strong buy" rating, while the 12-month consensus target price of $46.50 is now a 72.3% premium to current levels.
The security is today pacing for its best single-day percentage gain on record, after hitting a four-year high of $29.45. Shares have also conquered overhead pressure at their 40-day moving average, which first came into place in mid-June. So far in 2023, CRNX is up 47.4%.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 2,903 calls and 3,485 puts have swapped hands, or 16 times the intraday average volume. Most popular is the September 30 call.
The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.52 stands in the 92nd percentile of readings from the past 12 months. This means short-term options traders have been much more bearish than usual. Plus, short interest makes up 7.3% of the stock's available float.